seizure

[see-zher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR seizure ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or an instance of seizing.

the state of being seized.

a taking possession of an item, property, or person legally or by force.

a sudden attack, as of epilepsy or some other disease.

Origin of seizure

First recorded in 1475–85; seize + -ure

Related formsnon·sei·zure, nounre·sei·zure, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for seizure

breakdown, stroke, illness, convulsion, abduction, arrest, confiscation, fit, spell, throe, access, turn, paroxysm, spasm, apprehension, pinch, drop, bust, snatch, hook

Examples from the Web for seizure

Contemporary Examples of seizure

British officials suspect a criminal gang was responsible for the seizure but that he was later sold to ISIS.
Will The Latest ISIS Beheading Move Britain To Tougher Action?
Jamie Dettmer
September 14, 2014
Imagine the impact you might have had if you had also spoken about the Russian seizure of Crimea.
Time to Come Home, Edward Snowden, and Stop Hiding Behind a Corrupt Regime
Michael Daly
March 16, 2014
Time to end your silence about the seizure of Crimea and the troops massing at the border with eastern Ukraine.
Time to Come Home, Edward Snowden, and Stop Hiding Behind a Corrupt Regime
Michael Daly
March 16, 2014
She goes from bright and happy, to seizure, to zombie after the meds take effect.
Sanjay Gupta’s Pot Pilgrimage for Pain Relief
Valerie Vande Panne
March 11, 2014
The seizure of property began in earnest in 2003 after the arrest of the president of the Yukos oil company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Ukraine’s Revolutionary Lesson for Russia
David Satter
March 2, 2014

Historical Examples of seizure

Bohun was speechless for a moment, stricken dumb by a second seizure of fury.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
Lady Coryston lived for some eight months after this seizure.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Then Miss Colton told him of her father's seizure and gave him the note for you.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine
Joseph C. Lincoln
This seizure isn't alarming and there is absolutely no danger of contagion.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
But this first seizure was not so severe as to put a final arrest on his activities.
The Scottish Reformation
Alexander F. Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for seizure

seizure

noun

the act or an instance of seizing or the state of being seized

pathol a sudden manifestation or recurrence of a disease, such as an epileptic convulsion

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for seizure

"act of seizing," late 15c., from seize + -ure. Meaning "sudden attack of illness" is attested from 1779.

seizure in Medicine

seizure

[sē′zhər]

n.

A paroxysmal episode, caused by abnormal electrical conduction in the brain, resulting in the abrupt onset of transient neurologic symptoms such as involuntary muscle movements, sensory disturbances and altered consciousness.convulsion

A sudden attack, as of a disease.

seizure in Science

seizure

[sē′zhər]

A sudden episode of transient neurologic symptoms such as involuntary muscle movements, sensory disturbances and altered consciousness. A seizure is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which is often diagnosed on an electroencephalogram. See also epilepsy.